The floodgates have opened for rumors about OnePlus's upcoming foldable devices.
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It’s been well over a year since we first got our hands on the OnePlus Open, and now it seems rumors of a successor are heating up. Parent company Oppo seems to have confirmed a February launch window for its next foldable, the Find N5, with a teaser on Weibo. This launch window will likely only apply to China, but we expect this new phone will launch worldwide later on as the OnePlus Open 2.
I’m a noted fan of the original OnePlus Open, which proved to me that foldables were more than just their touted potential. And after two happy months with the OnePlus Open as my daily driver I understood its spot on our list of the best foldable phones.
With that in mind, there are several factors influencing my decision to discuss the Open in the past tense – the phone has some imperfections that ultimately caused me to revert to traditional slab phones. However, my interest in the folding design remains strong, and I recently caught myself powering on the Open, contemplating whether I could transition back to it.
Word of a new revision on the horizon makes this question burn even brighter. As our OnePlus 13 review and OnePlus 13R review find, OnePlus is smashing it out of the park in the standard phone world at the moment. So I’m hopeful the company can continue that run with its folding devices: here are 5 things I want to see from the OnePlus Open 2.
An enhanced, more powerful battery
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A significant drawback of utilizing a folding phone is its reduced battery life when compared to a similarly equipped flat phone, and the OnePlus Open follows this trend.
While the Open can last you throughout the day, you'll likely find yourself keeping a closer eye on the battery percentage than you would with a similarly priced flat phone.
Some of this can be attributed to the physical limitations of a device that is divided by a hinge. The mechanical components occupy important internal space, and having two separate cells is often less efficient than utilizing a single, cohesive battery.
We are currently experiencing a pivotal moment in battery technology. Smartphone manufacturers are starting to move away from traditional lithium-ion batteries, opting instead for innovative silicon-carbon battery designs. These new batteries offer significantly higher energy density, allowing them to store more power within the same physical dimensions. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to test this cutting-edge technology with the Oppo Find X8 Pro, which boasts impressive battery longevity that has transformed my perspective on phone charging (though it does come with a cell that is 25% larger than that of the OnePlus Open).
As a part of the Oppo family, OnePlus stands to gain from the enhanced battery technology found in the Find series. The premium starting price is expected to provide the company with the financial flexibility needed to incorporate a silicon carbon battery into the device. Today's flagship smartphones are expected to last throughout the day, and it would greatly benefit the Open to meet this expectation effectively.
A more streamlined design
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After using the OnePlus Open with one hand for a while, several thoughts may cross your mind: “This display is enormous,” “I’m curious about the technology behind it,” and eventually, “wow, this device feels a bit hefty.”
Although I am the dedicated phones and tablets writer for TechRadar, I would advise against using your phone for extended durations without taking breaks. That being said, the OnePlus Open, weighing in at 239g, does feel quite hefty during anything beyond a brief scroll.
For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro Max weighs in at 227g, while the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra weighs in at 232g. Both phones have a larger display (6.9-inch and 6.8-inch respectively) than the 6.31-inch external display on the OnePlus Open, which speaks to the latter's sheer density.
Additionally, the whole folding thing essentially prohibits the Open from offering decent one-handed ergonomics, as it's got a lot more depth and bulk than a typical flagship. Again, that’s part of the trade-off of using a folding phone, and ideally the large inner screen gets most of a user’s attention, but it'd still be nice to have an easier time using the phone when folded.
Thankfully, the latest rumors are hopeful. We previously reported that the OnePlus Open 2 could be the world’s new thinnest folding phone at launch, besting the 4.35mm unfolded thickness of the Honor Magic V3, while GSMArena a reports that the frame of the Open 2 could make use of titanium, which is substantially lighter than the stainless steel u for the current-gen Open.
Improved camera technology
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This one might be pushing it – at launch, the OnePlus Open bucked the trend of folding phone cameras by offering users a genuinely up-to-date flagship camera system, at a time where people and critics alike were feeling slightly underwhelmed by the nerfed triple-camera setup found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, and now the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
As a point of reference, the OnePlus Open is equipped with a 48MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera featuring 3x zoom. Based on my experience, I can confidently say that it ranks among the top phone cameras I've ever utilized. However, this doesn't imply that enhancements aren't possible.
Times have changed in the year or so since, though, and the competition is starting to get, well, competitive. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes equipped with a 5x telephoto camera, and the aforementioned Honor Magic V3 comes with a suite of fantastically useful cameras.
More than that, the rest of the industry is moving forwards at an absolutely pace when it comes to photography – just look at the incredible picture samples found in our Xiaomi 14 Ultra review, Oppo Find X8 Pro review, or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review. The fewer compromises a folding phone presents to a user, the better, and I’d like to see the OnePlus Open 2 make the most of its headstart on photography.
A digital safety net
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The 7.82-inch inner display found on the OnePlus Open is its defining and best feature, but it brings a unique challenge when it comes to optimization. Not every app you’ll find on the Google Play Store is optimized for foldable devices, especially older apps and games, which means apps can become hard to use or even crash entirely when switching from the outer display to the inner panel.
It would be unreasonable to expect every developer to optimize their applications for the relatively small folding phone market. However, OnePlus might alleviate some of this burden by introducing a software safety feature with the OnePlus Open 2. This feature could enable unoptimized apps to run on the inner or outer display while maintaining their original aspect ratio when users toggle between the two screens.
I'm not a developer, so please excuse my ignorance if this idea is completely unfeasible – however, if this type of display awareness can be achieved, it would certainly provide reassurance to those who are worried about using their favorite applications on a folding phone and making the most of the platform's versatility.
An improved IP rating
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Folding smartphones, such as the OnePlus Open, feature a level of mechanical complexity that surpasses that of conventional phones, incorporating numerous moving components that need sufficient space for functionality. As a result, it is highly unlikely that folding devices will achieve an IP68 rating—at least with the technology available today.
The OnePlus Open boasts an IPX4 rating, indicating it can withstand splashes of water, but it offers no defense against dust or other solid particles—so beach enthusiasts should take note.
This is one of the few categories where the OnePlus Open is properly lagging behind. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 manages an IP48 rating – submersible with resistance to 1mm-wide particles, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can handle a dip but can’t deal with dust.
This is another one of those issues where you can’t ask for the world, but Samsung has proved that better durability is possible. Most flagship phone users haven’t really thought about durability for years now – other than the occasional drop on the sidewalk – so getting closer to the industry standard IP68 certification would be a welcome upgrade for the OnePlus Open 2.
OnePlus has yet to reveal any official information about the rumored OnePlus Open sequel, other than a February launch window – we’ll be eagerly reporting on the latest updates via our dedicated OnePlus phones coverage.
